3 ms·

A private company just launched the largest rocket ever built. It was a test. Tests fail, but failed tests aren't failures, theyre learning opportunities. Spac

A private company just launched the largest rocket ever built. It was a test. Tests fail, but failed tests aren't failures, theyre learning opportunities. SpaceX had several of these types of failures when testing and iterating on falcon 9. It now sends people to the ISS. There is a PR battle going on with this, there always have been but in particular, Elon is associated very publicly with this company and he's no longer a darling due to the Twitter fiasco. SpaceX has to remind people quite strongly that these are tests, failure is a part of the process, and there will be a big push by his enemies to make this out to be some catastrophic failure because some people want to make him look bad. Its a failure, but it's a testing failure, so its a success. If the entire thing had exploded on the pad I'd agree with you, but it didn't, it made it through several of it's test objectives and was well worth it for the data alone.

stephc_int13 4y ago
Again, not complete failure, but partial success. No matter how you spin it they did not achieve 100% of the objectives. And yes the media honeymoon with Elon Musk is clearly over, and I think this is for the better (including for his own sanity)
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- splistud 4y ago
  [dead]
- gpm 4y ago
  They did achieve 100% of the objectives they did not define to be bonus objectives though. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1wcilQ58hI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1wcilQ58hI @ 9:38 "We will consider any data inform and improve future builds of starship as a success. From a milestone our main goal is to clear the pad. Every milestone beyond that is a bonus." They may not have defined the test as aggressively as you would have liked them to, but it's their test, they get to choose what they're testing.
kortex 4y ago
> failed tests aren't failures, theyre learning opportunities I could frame this. Task failed successfully. Maybe folks need more experience in hard science (I'm a former bench chemist), but the only way a test can truly fail, is if someone or something is harmed, or you don't collect good data. Blowing up rockets is arguably better than successful missions (provided you get telemetry), cause you found an edge of the envelope.
nickpp 4y ago
> Its a failure, but it's a testing failure, so its a success. Cultural misunderstanding then. Only in USA failure is seen as learning opportunity. Most other countries punish you severely for failure, hard enough to discourage you from trying ever again. This is why SpaceX could only happen in the USA. And why other countries are left behind while Americans are flying to Mars.

stephc_int13 4y ago

Again, not complete failure, but partial success. No matter how you spin it they did not achieve 100% of the objectives. And yes the media honeymoon with Elon Musk is clearly over, and I think this is for the better (including for his own sanity)

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
splistud 4y ago
[dead]
gpm 4y ago
They did achieve 100% of the objectives they did not define to be bonus objectives though. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1wcilQ58hI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1wcilQ58hI @ 9:38 "We will consider any data inform and improve future builds of starship as a success. From a milestone our main goal is to clear the pad. Every milestone beyond that is a bonus." They may not have defined the test as aggressively as you would have liked them to, but it's their test, they get to choose what they're testing.

kortex 4y ago

> failed tests aren't failures, theyre learning opportunities I could frame this. Task failed successfully. Maybe folks need more experience in hard science (I'm a former bench chemist), but the only way a test can truly fail, is if someone or something is harmed, or you don't collect good data. Blowing up rockets is arguably better than successful missions (provided you get telemetry), cause you found an edge of the envelope.

nickpp 4y ago

> Its a failure, but it's a testing failure, so its a success. Cultural misunderstanding then. Only in USA failure is seen as learning opportunity. Most other countries punish you severely for failure, hard enough to discourage you from trying ever again. This is why SpaceX could only happen in the USA. And why other countries are left behind while Americans are flying to Mars.